1. hobbies and interests
2. reading

Building Great
Readers, One Good
Habit At a Time.
How to Build Great Readers
VOLUME ONE, NUMBER ONE
by Nancy Frey, Ph.D
www.pearsonlearning.com
uilding great readers begins in
knowing what actions good
readers take while reading (good
habits) and what teachers can do to
teach students to take those actions. In
other words, “what do good readers do”
and “what do good teachers of reading
comprehension do?”
B
Celebration Press Reading:
Good Habits, Great Readers is
a unique research-based K–5
reading curriculum. Perfect for
schools committed to a
comprehensive and consistent
What Do Good Readers Do?
literacy program, it provides
First we must look at, and understand
how good readers comprehend what
they read. Research shows that
good readers have formed good
reading habits and apply proven
reading strategies. Paris, Wasik, and
Turner (1991) described strategic
reading as “a prime characteristic of
expert readers because it is woven
into the fabric of children’s
cognitive development and is
necessary for success in school”
(p. 609). They further placed these
reading strategies into three
clusters: Before reading:
previewing the text, making
predictions during reading:
identifying main ideas, making
inferences, inspecting the text after
reading: summarizing, reflecting
(Paris, Wasik and Turner, 1991).
Other studies have focused on other
proven strategies, particularly in
regard to the role of self generated
questions, mental imagery (Borduin,
Borduin, and Manley, 1994), and critical
literacy (Luke, 2000). Over time, all of
these strategies become the habits of
readers who love to read, read with
purpose, and understand what they read.
The research has shown that these are
the things good readers do.
teaching and classroom
materials to support whole-class
and small-group reading
instruction. Educators teach
reading through an engaging,
accessible teacher support
system written for busy teachers
which includes embedded
professional development at
point-of-use.
The Seven Habits of Great Readers
1. Great readers see themselves as readers
2. Great readers make sense of text
3. Great readers use what they know
4. Great readers understand how stories work
5. Great readers read to learn
6. Great readers monitor and organize ideas
and information
7. Great readers think critically about books
Great Readers Begin by Developing Good Habits.
SPRING 2006
What Do Good Teachers of
Reading Comprehension Do?
To bring students to the point of
internalizing good reading habits, good
teachers employ a number of explicit
teaching techniques—the things good
reading teachers do. Good teachers
provide direct explanations. The teacher
explains the comprehension strategy
(Duffy, Roehler, Meloth, Vavrus, Book,
“When looking for a comprehensive reading
program, look for one that builds on a solid
foundation of research, features reading
comprehension strategies and offers an
instructional model that begins with teacher
modeling and ends with students working
independently. In addition, a good program
should help students build the habits of mind
that great readers possess including seeing
themselves as readers, making sense of text,
knowing what they know, understanding how
stories work, reading to learn, monitoring and
organizing ideas and information, and
thinking critically about texts.”
Nancy Frey, Ph.D
Putnam, and Wesselman, 1986). These
direct explanations must involve both
the procedure and the purpose of the
strategy if students are to understand
how the particular strategy can solve
comprehension problems. As the
National Reading Panel (NICHHD,
2000a) advised, reading comprehension
instruction must also include modeling
and supportive guidance if students are
to acquire the tools needed to
understand text. Good teachers think
aloud to foster metacognition (teacher
modeling). Baker and Brown (1984)
described the role of metacognition in
reading as “the ability to reflect on
one’s own cognitive processes, to be
aware of one’s own activities while
reading” (p. 353). Effective
reading teachers help students
gain this kind of awareness by
“thinking aloud,” by modeling
“how good readers use
comprehension strategies to
understand” (Davey, 1983). In
this manner, young readers gain
insight into how they can use the
tools of comprehension. Good
teachers facilitate peer learning
through partner talk (guided
practice and application). Brown,
Pressley,Van Meter, and Schuder
(1996) investigated the
effectiveness of peer discussion
in deepening and refining
understanding of reading
comprehension strategies. Called
“transactional strategies
instruction,” these conversations
follow teacher modeling and
provide students with an
opportunity to apply the strategy
to a piece of text and discuss their
decisions for doing so.
For your FREE copy of the research
paper for Celebration Press Reading:
Good Habits, Great Readers, log onto
www.GoodHabitsGreatReaders.com.
References
Baker, L., and Brown, A. L. (1984). Metacognitive skills and reading. In P. D. Pearson, R. Barr, M. L. Kamil, and P. Mosenthal (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (pp. 353-394). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence A. Erlbaum.
Borduin, B. J., Borduin, C. M., and Manley, C. M. (1994). The use of imagery training to improve reading comprehension of second graders. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 155(1), 115-118.
Brown, R., Pressley, M., Van Meter, P., and Schuder, T. (1996). A quasi-experimental validation of transactional strategies instruction with low-achieving second-grade readers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88(1), 18-37.
Davey, B. (1983). Think aloud: Modeling the cognitive processes of reading comprehension. Journal of Reading, 27(1), 44-47.
Duffy, G. G., Roehler, L. R., Meloth, M. S., Vavrus, L. G., Book, C., Putnam, J., and Wessleman, R. (1986). The relationship between explicit verbal explanations during reading skill instruction and student awareness and achievement:
A study of reading teacher effects. Reading Research Quarterly, 21(3), 237-252.
1-800-321-3106
www.pearsonlearning.com
Program Authors:
Douglas Fisher, Ph.D.
Nancy Frey, Ph.D.
Adria Klein, Ph.D.
Paris, S. G., Wasik, B. A., and Turner, J. C. (1991). The development of strategic readers. In R. Barr, M. L. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, and P. D. Pearson (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (Vol. II, pp. 609-640). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence A. Erlbaum.
Pearson, P. D., and Fielding, L. (1991). Comprehension instruction. In R. Barr, M. L. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, and P. D. Pearson (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (Vol. II, pp. 815-860). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence A. Erlbaum.
1-800-321-3106
Celebration Press Reading: Good Habits, Great Readers